FOOTBALL: USA TODAY's Gordon Forbes examines the NFL's
establishment of the Browns expansion franchise and writes
that the "stocking of departments, unprecedented in NHL
history, has irked some ownership groups" (USA TODAY, 5/8).
...USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that if NBC and Turner
Broadcasting move forward on a new football league, it would
"likely" include 10, 12 or "even more franchises, mostly in
major markets," and begin in mid-August (USA TODAY, 5/8).
OTHER NOTES: The CA Speedway announced that attendance
at last weekend's CA 500 drew a record sellout crowd of
115,000, topping the record of 95,000 set last year (Penske
Motorsports)....Nine members of the former Colorado Silver
Bullets baseball team have signed contracts to play with the
Ladies Professional Baseball League (USA TODAY, 5/8)

NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik appeared on the "NBA
on TNT" with Verne Lundquist and Doc Rivers prior to the
start of the second half of the Knicks-Pacers game last
night. Granik, on the league's labor negotiations: "We had
our fifth or sixth meeting today. We've been meeting about
once a week and our hope is that we will continue that pace
and maybe even pick it up a little as we go forward."
Granik mentioned that Rivers was part of past labor talks,
and added, "You hope that if you keep talking, keep meeting,
that eventually will lead to some agreement. The biggest
thing for us is the economic system. We have an economic
system that we think is out of whack. ... That's the biggest
issue, there are other issues but I think those are going to
be resolvable" ("NBA on TNT," TNT, 5/7).
AGENTS MEET: SI's Jackie MacMullan reports that agents
representing a 20-member advisory committee will meet today
to discuss, "among other things, whether a majority of
players support decertification" (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 5/11).

Oilers President Glen Sather said that small-market
Canadian teams can survive, but success will mean "convincing
the rest of the NHL's owners, both in Canada and the United
States, that they are on a self-destructive course,"
according to David Shoalts of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL.
Sather said that he doesn't expect to receive any public
assistance, but that teams need to control salaries: "The
market is created by us. If we decide not to pay Sergei
Fedorov $36-million, that changes the market." But he added
that the market won't change since owners will spend whatever
it takes to win, so small-market clubs, "instead of bitching
and moaning about salaries," are going to have to target new
revenue. Sather said one "key" area is TV, where the Oilers
are bringing all production in-house and looking at PPV
telecasts as a "major growth area." Sather added that he
would like to see more revenue sharing and said the six
Canadian clubs "would be a hell of a lot better off if we
could keep the 'Hockey Night in Canada' revenue," instead of
the current Canadian Assistance Plan. Sather, on fellow
owners: "Everybody, because they want to chase the Stanley
Cup, can rationalize what they pay these players. Owners
start to fall in love with their stars" (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/8).